Meeting Minutes
July 5th, 2007
The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 2nd at 7:00 pm at the 14th District Police Station, 2150 N. California.
Officers Present: PO Strazzante (3rd watch), SGT Giambrone, PO Ortiz (1st watch), PO Angelo (2nd watch), PO Trempe (3rd watch), PO Crawford (days), PO Williams (14th District CAPS Office)
Go directly to the following sections:
General Announcements
CLEARMap
Court Advocacy
Beat 1431 Section Reports
General Announcements
Sergeant Giambrone announced that Beat 1431 Index crimes 2nd to Beat 1412 with the lowest total index and non-index crimes. Index crimes are the most serious offenses and include:
- HOMICIDE 1ST & 2ND DEGREE
- CRIMINAL SEXUAL ASSAULT
- ROBBERY
- AGGRAVATED ASSAULT
- AGGRAVATED BATTERY
- BURGLARY
- LARCENY
- MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT
- ARSON
1st watch: Second lowest total verified crimes (index and non-index)
2nd watch: Second lowest total verified crimes and tied for lowest non-index
3rd watch: Lowest total index crimes
Most notable, thefts and burglaries are down 60% - 70%
14th District Bike Safety Rodeo, 2150 N. California from 12:00 - 3:00pm
Services provided by Mayor Daley's Bicycling Ambassadors:
- Helmet fittings
- Bicycle safety checks
- Obstacle course
- Certificates
- Giveaways
Fraud, Burglary and Larceny Prevention Help
Consumer Fraud Prevent Information Line 312-742-PPPP or 312-742-7777
Receive recorded information on:
- Home Repair
- Consumers and Credit
- Identity Theft
- Motor Vehicle Repairs
- Retail Shopping
- Immigration Services
More information is available online at http://www.cityofchicago.org/consumerservices or by calling 311
Burglary and Theft Prevention
- Don't be afraid to request identification cards from delivery persons or strangers
- Never allow strangers to enter your residence
- Have your paychecks or government checks sent directly to your bank account
- Never give out personal information to strangers, such as birthday or social security numbers
- Shred or cut important information before discarding
CAPS TIPS for Identifying Animal Cruelty
Animal fighting in Illinois is a felony, punishable by up to three years in jail. Simply attending an animal fight is a misdemeanor. If you have information about animal fighting in progress, call 911. If you have other information about animal cruelty or animal fighting that may be occurring in your neighborhood, call 311.
Recognizing Signs of Animal Fighting:
- People walking their dogs with large heavy chains, such as bike chains, and spike collars
- Dogs with fresh wounds or numerous scars
- People transporting dogs in the trunks of their cars
- Dogs that are overly aggressive towards people or other animals, particularly dogs that are fierce without any provocation
- People leaving dogs in empty apartments or abandoned buildings
CLEARMap (formerly Citizen ICAM)
From June 1st - 30th, according to CLEARMap, Beat 1431 suffered 69 crimes, a decrease of 8 from last month (77):
- 1 AGGRAVATED BATTERY
- 5 BURGLARY
- 1 FORGERY AND COUNTERFEITING
- 2 FRAUD
- 21 LARCENY - THEFT
- 8 MISCELLANEOUS NON-INDEX OFFENSES
- 3 MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT
- 2 ROBBERY
- 3 SIMPLE ASSAULT
- 13 SIMPLE BATTERY
- 1 STOLEN PROPERTY: BUY, RECEIVE, POSSESS
- 9 VANDALISM
Click here to view table of all reported crimes (new window)
Gang Intervention Probation Program
Any resident who sees the following individuals violating curfew or in the presence with a known gang member, should call 911.
- Jesus Ocampo (click here for photo) is currently living on the 2100 block of N. Bingham with mandatory curfew hours from 9pm - 7am during the period from 12/15/2005 - 12/14/2007.
Court Advocacy Report
One member of beat 1431 attended court several times during the month. Two of the cases resulted in guilty charges. They included the following:
| DATE | LAST NAME | FIRST NAME | CHARGE | VERDICT | SENTENCE |
6/13/2007 | Spires | Ramon | Agg Assault- Gun, Knife,ot | guilty | 12 months supervision |
6/13/2007 | Jackson | Qwonzell | Agg Assault- Gun, Knife,ot | guilty | 12 months supervision |
In thirteen other cases that were followed, one warrant was issued for Roy Gambill, the case against Anthony Chojnowski was continued and in eleven other cases charges were dismissed because witnesses and/or police officers did not show up in court.
Everyone is encouraged to attend as many of the cases in July as possible.
Upcoming Court Advocacy Dates
The Court Advocate program meets the first Tuesday of every month at the 14th District Police Station at 6pm. For further information, please contact Deb Augustyn at the CAPS Office 312-744-8290.
There are 6 court dates in June that the Court Advocate Program needs participants to attend.
click here to view upcoming dates (new window)
Beat 1431 Section Reports
SECTION 1 (Borders: California, Milwaukee, Armitage)
1) Cobra and Latin Lover gang activity continues. Between June 7th and June 12th, the following Cobra gang members Lino Quinn, Ricky Vasquez, J.J. Morgan and Roy Gambill were reportedly loitering at the following properties on Bingham: 2106, 2108 and 2113
2) June 17th at 3am, there was a shooting at Western and Milwaukee near the McDonald's
3) June 10th, gang tags vandalized resident's garage on Bingham
4) Bonsoiree, restaurant at 2728 W. Armitage, has been burglarized 4 times in the last 3-4 months. The owner has had his front door vandalized, plate glass windows have been destroyed and intruders were able to gain access through installed burglar bars. There is a new building being developed behind this property which is expected to have a full time security guard which may help deter further burglaries.
5) June 8th, the Family Dollar store was robbed by a thief using pepper spray.
6) J.J. Morgan has been seen speeding through the streets in a green Toyota.
7) Jim Rhodes mentioned his concern to the police that despite CAPS reports of serious gang crimes in this section, there has been no noticeable decrease in activity.
8) PO Trempe mentioned that Cobra gang member Jose Crespo is believed to be a major player in this section responsible for providing drugs, guns and gang members from outside the neighborhood. PO Trempe also mentioned that he has seen many of these gang members loitering at 2074 Stave over the last few days.
9) The Alderman's office has been trying to contact owners of several properties on the 2100 and 2200 block of Bingham and Stave to fix fences that are broken and providing access to gang members crossing between both streets.
10) 2113 Bingham reportedly has seen less criminal gang activity over the last month.
11) June 13th, J.J. Morgan was arrested for "obstructing" as well as Jose Hernandez who apparently had a Cook County Warrant, violating his parole. "Wheelchair Tony" was also arrested for criminal trespass over last month.
12) SGT Giambrone mentioned that arrests continue to be made in this section and that noticeable change in the criminal activity in this section will not happen overnight. The drug activity is not considered large enough to get as much attention as the open-air drug market that can bring in large number of warrants. Additionally, much of the activity is occurring at night which is harder to police.
PO Trempe further explained that there is a wealth of activity with the homeless who receive drugs in exchange for their stolen goods.
13) Several young males were seen drinking, loitering and then driving on the sidewalk on Bingham during the early morning hours (around 2am) July 1st.
14) SGT Giambrone brought attention to a crime he considers a "vehicular invasion" that occurred over the last month on Stave carried out by 2 males (one black one white). A male on the bike stopped in the middle of the street and then threw his bike onto an approaching car's hood, while the other male tried to gain access to the car via the passenger side door.
action: This section continues to have major gang activity. Residents are strongly urged to call 911 for any emergency or crime in this section. The more calls to 911 the more attention this area will receive.
SECTION 2 (Borders: Rockwell, Lyndale, Western, Milwaukee)
1) A Congress Theater representative appeared to address an incident that occurred a few months ago where the alley behind the theater was blocked off preventing residents access to their garages.
The Congress Theater representative was not personally aware of this problem and did not know what party acting on behalf of the Theater was responsible (could have been representatives from the House of Blues/LiveNation). Regardless, the Congress Theater representative promised this would not happen again.
14th District police mentioned they have had problems with the House of Blues security blocking access to the alley and have had to threaten to cancel the event before these House of Blues representative took action.
PO Strazzante encouraged residents to call 911 to have the police ticket and tow any vehicles if the alley or their garages are blocked.
2) The Congress Theater representative was also told to better manage the parking at Chase Elementary School. There has been a history of cars being driven and parked on the sidewalk and the police will continue to ticket and tow these vehicles. PO Strazzante also mentioned that residents have been selling temporary parking permits to concertgoers looking for parking spots.
action: Congress Theater is under scrutiny to make sure the alley behind the theater is clear and parking practices around the theater and at Chase Elementary School are closely monitored. Residents are strongly urged to call 911 to report any violations.
SECTION 3 (Borders: Rockwell, Fullerton, Western, Lyndale)
1) During the early evening of June 26th or 27th an out of district police car collided with an SUV near Western and Fullerton. Apparently neither parties involved were seriously injured.
2) A robbery occurred around 3am just east of Western at Belden and Western. 14th District police assigned to Wicker Park area were flagged down by the victim and apprehended the criminals on foot. One was charged with a Class X felony and the other violated his parole.
SECTION 4 (Borders: California, Fullerton, Rockwell, Milwaukee)
1) 1:52am, Saturday June 9th there was a gang related shooting supposedly between the Cobras and Latin Lovers at the corner of Belden and Talman in the diagonal parking at Goethe Elementary School. The victim who was shot in the leg is not pressing charges.
2) June 8th, there were 4-6 gang members attempting to disrupt the Goethe Elementary School graduation ceremony practice, the school principal and assistant principal called the police but there was no response.
3) June 9th, a Goethe student was assaulted at Rockwell and Fullerton.
4) June 11th, During the day of graduation at Goethe, the school's police officer was there for 2 1/2 hours and chased a young male away who was wielding 2 baseball bats
5) A resident reported that there has been drinking in the street on the 2100 block of Talman during the early morning (midnights - 2am).
6) Jim Rhodes, who is also a member of the LSC told the police present that based upon the gang violence at Goethe the past month, the school seems to be "in play" by the gangs and we cannot afford any harm to kids playing on the school grounds.
7) A resident questioned whether by calling 911 his name could be picked up by police scanners used by criminals. The police said his name would not be revealed and that he should elect to remain anonymous when calling 911. Click here to view 911 calling tips.
8) A resident reported a tan dog that appeared to be a pit bull mix, running loose behind 2638 Lyndale that approached the resident gnashing it's teeth when trying to walk down Lyndale.
action: Police need to focus on keeping Goethe safe from gang violence. Residents are urged to call 911 when witnessing any gang activity in the area.
SECTION 5 (Borders: California, Logan Boulevard, Rockwell, Fullerton)
1) There have been several older males loitering at Haas Park over the last month who were arrested for drinking. SGT Giambrone mentioned that the 14th District Police are trying to maintain the recently renovated park as a safe place for kids to enjoy.
action: Residents are strongly urged to call 911 to report gang activity particularly at Haas Park and the area of Altgeld and Washtenaw.
SECTION 6 (Borders: Rockwell, Logan Boulevard, Western, Fullerton)
1) Infamous transient Daryl Chambers and known burglar, William Sobczech continue to live in and around the Kennedy Expressway viaduct near Logan and Artesian. PO Trempe noted residents should be wary of potential burglary attempts by Sobczech - a tall, thin, Caucasian male with blondish/brown hair and full beard and is missing the tip of one of his fingers.
Both have setup camp in that area for the last 4 weeks. Sobczech also badly beat up a "drinking mate" with a lock but the victim did not press charges.
action: Residents are strongly urged to call 911 to report gang activity and 311 for graffiti.
Recurring Problem Areas for BEAT 1431
1) Section 1 gang activity and violence on Bingham and Stave
2) Gang graffiti
3) Gang loitering and recruiting
4) Gang violence
DISCLAIMER
Beat 1431 CAPS volunteers prepared these meeting minutes to the best of their ability.
